Ever since her character, Sophia, in Orange is the New Black, Actress Laverne Cox has become the face of the transgender movement in America, and a powerful advocate for transgender women. She was the first among the transgender community to appear on the cover of Time magazine in May 2014, though the world had already been introduced to her in 2013 through her character in the Netflix dramady.

Laverne Cox first came out as gay in college at Indiana University, but in an interview when asked about whether she had undergone any surgical alterations, she rejected the question stating that it was invasive.

Campaign against gender policing

Cox has been against ‘gender policing’ every since she came to the limelight, arguing that it hurts everyone, especially the men who go out with transgender women.

Many of the men who feel attracted to transgender women are usually stigmatised more than trans women, and feels that if a prominent man who’s dating a transgender woman would come forward, whether he’s a celebrity, athlete, musician, or famous in some other area, it would help to address the stigma associated with these kinds of relationships.

Gender policing is done in such a way that it not only affects trans people, but also straight-identified and gay-identified men. Talking from experience after dating a few straight-identified men, Cox claims that the men deeply internalise the motions of what it really means to be a straight man but attracted to a trans woman.

Cox, like all LGBT advocates, believes that no one should have to be subjected to gender policing, and no one should really bother trying to find out how another man or woman conducts his/her personal life. Many trans people have had an unhappy childhood that has resulted in suicide attempts, as in the case of Cox, and they require to not be put in the spotlight for matters that should be private and personal. However by more trans people coming out and being public with their happy, fulfilled lives, teens and young adults struggling with their gender identity will have an easier time coming to terms with who they are.

Laverne Cox has been a great role model for the LGBT community and continues to give trans people hope that they can live a normal life after making the transition to their rightful gender. For more information or to learn about FTM top surgery, contact our office today.